Archive

January 28, 2014

The series
follows Haruka, a boy who used
to swim competitively in elementary with three guys Makoto, Rin and Nagisa.
Haruka hasn’t swum competitively in years even though Makoto encourages him. Things
begin to change when Haruka and Makoto are reunited with Nagisa, who just
enrolled at their high school. Nagisa insists that they should re-form their
old swimming relay team, but the plan hits a snag when they learn that they
need a fourth member to start the club. Luckily Nagisa meets Ren a track
athlete who he convinces to join the swim team. The team run into Rin who has
changed drastically since they were all in elementary. Rin is now attending an
elite rival school and wants nothing more than to beat Haruka at the swim relay.
To have a chance at competing legitimately the squad will have to go through
some rigorous training. Will Haruka and friends overcome the odds and succeed
as the Iwatobi High School swim team?

I was so glad this anime had finally come out. I’d been looking forward
to it for some time. After all the years of fan service for guys, all the big
boobs, panty shots and unnecessary angles up skirts. It was about time an anime
came out with nothing but fan service for the ladies. Throughout the show the
guys are hardly ever fully dressed. They are muscled beyond belief for high
school guys and thank god for that! It was a pretty much eye candy the whole
show.

Now as for story it’s very basic and not very deep but it’s a fun show.
There’s a lot of comedy thrown in and each boy covers a basic type. Haruka is
the quiet and brooding, Rin is the angst filled one, Makoto is the encouraging and
nurturing type, Nagisa is full of energy and always happy and lastly Rei is the
book worm complete with glasses. The series is very light hearted with a few
deeper moments thrown in. The animation is well done with its pretty background
and handsome boys.

If you enjoy slice of life, comedy or sport animes I believe you’d enjoy
this series. Its only 12 episodes long so it won’t take much time and there is
talk of a season two.So hopefully in
the near future we’ll see more of these handsome boys.

January 17, 2014

Hana, a young college student meets a strange young man and
falls in love with him. Turns out the man is the last of his kind, he can turn
into a wolf at will. The two move in together and start a family. They have two
kids a little girl named Yuki, she is very wild and full of energy and a little
boy named Ame, he is timid and mellow. The father dies in an accident while Ame
is still a baby, leaving Hana to figure out how to raise two wolf children on
her own. After a few issues arise living in the city she decides to move out to
the country so the children can have plenty of room to roam without being
noticed.

Beautiful, that is the word that comes to mind when I think
of this wonderful movie. The story is touching, the mother has to figure out
how to care for her children without the help of the man she loves. Her loneliness
is shown in beautiful ways, and even though she is lonely the love she has for
her children shines through. The trials and tribulations of her predicament
make for a story that works for all ages. It has moments of sweetness and
moments of comedy all blended together beautifully.

The animation of the characters is simply done, much like
Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. While the character animation
is simple the rest of the animation is breath taking. The scene in which Hana
discovers her lover’s true form is full of stars and it’s beautiful. The
mountains and the rest of the backgrounds are striking and a nice contrast with
the simple character design. The world created for this movie is amazing; it is
one of the best I’ve seen.

Overall I highly recommend this movie; it works for kids as
well as adults. I plan to add the blu-ray to my collection as soon as possible.
So make sure you add this movie to your must watch list.

December 11, 2013

A ninja named Saizo runs into Isanami when she is attacked by assassins. He saves her becoming her reluctant bodyguard while she makes her way to meet Sanada; the man she was told to find when her shrine came under attack. Sanada is gathering ten warriors together and wishes for Saizo and Isanami to join them. Soon after Isanami's strange power comes to light and a prophecy is revealed.

Average
is the word that comes to mind with this anime series. The animation is average
nothing grand, the character designs are standard. The story is average as
well; Saizou the main warrior is at first badass yet as the series progresses
he becomes useless and needs help in battles. The young woman Isanami, is
a priestess whose shrine is destroyed and is the lone survivor. During the
whole series she clings to Saizou and is very childish. She has a great power
and yet always needs rescued. There was nothing new or out of the ordinary with
the series, it was all very typical and conventional. Though that's not to say I didn't enjoy the show. I did have fun watching a new anime, the first one I've seen in awhile. So while its average its not a bad series.

I also found the series had some decent comic relief; I would laugh out
loud at some points. The relationships between the ten warriors are not well constructed but they are funny. The fights are fun to watch as well, though nothing new.
The series doesn’t lack for action with a fight happening on a regular basis,
so you won’t find any filler. Overall I wouldn't call this a must watch series
but if you have some free time and want to watch an anime without much of a
commitment then this would be a good pick. It’s only 12 episodes and an easy
watch so enjoy the simple plot and have a few laughs.